


magnitude

by phalangine



Series: the laws of motion [3]
Category: X-Men (Alternate Timeline Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Bathing/Washing, Comfort, Multi, Polyamory, Sickfic, polyamory is tricky
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-05
Updated: 2017-02-05
Packaged: 2018-09-22 07:48:58
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,309
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9593312
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/phalangine/pseuds/phalangine
Summary: Water sloshes as Magda turns over in the big claw foot tub. She hooks her chin over the rim and fixes Charles with a curious look. "You've got a three-day weekend, right?"





	

Water sloshes as Magda turns over in the big claw foot tub. She hooks her chin over the rim and fixes Charles with a curious look. "You've got a three-day weekend, right?"

Charles nods. "I do," he croaks at the ceiling, his voice scratching painfully on the way out.

Magda clucks, her mind humming with concern. "You should spend it with us. I don't like the thought of you driving when you're this sick."

Charles would argue, but he doesn't have the energy. _I have work that needs to be done._

"Then we'll send Erik to fetch it. He needs to get out anyway. He's getting cabin fever."

The plan is sound. Charles really only needs his backpack; it has his grade book, the kids' work, and his tablet. Erik shouldn't have any trouble finding it. Charles left it right on his bed. Yet Charles can't help but want to return to his apartment.

The water sloshes again, and a wet hand touches his cheek. "If you insist on not staying, at least let one of us drive you," she says softly. Her thumb traces light circles on his overheated skin. It feels nice, and combined with the steam from Magda's bath, Charles finds himself drifting off.

Charles has been taking care of himself- and Raven- since he was barely a teenager. The idea of sitting back and letting himself be taken care of is... odd. He doesn't entirely like it. But he wants to try. For Magda and Erik, he wants to find out how it feels.

A knock on the door startles Charles from his thoughts.

"Come in, Erik," Magda calls, "but be careful."

The door opens a crack, and Erik squeezes himself through. His eyes are on Charles where he's lying on the floor as he steps inside carefully. His brows furrow, then climb up his forehead.

"He's down there because I told him to," Magda explains.

Erik nods and takes a seat on the rim. "Emma called. She's throwing a party tomorrow and wants to know if we're coming. What are you thinking?"

"Charles isn't up to partying," Magda says. "And I don't particularly feel welcome among Emma's friends."

That, Charles thinks, is a kind way of saying Magda doesn't want to be the token human in a house full of mutants. Emma is a mutual friend, one Charles likes, but at a distance. She doesn't consort with supremacists, but some of her activist friends tend to spout aggressive rhetoric at every opportunity. They may like Magda, and Magda may be patient, but the condemnation must wear thin.

Erik accepts his wife's refusal with a knowing nod.

They're an odd couple, Erik and Magda. Charles never would have expected Erik to marry a human. He was one of the loudest mutant rights activists for a time, his own calls for justice sometimes bordering on violent. Magda seems to have mellowed him, though. That or just keeps his leash too tight for him to get into trouble. He still goes to protests and marches, but Magda is always at his side with her own signs. Whatever she's doing, it must be working, because Erik hasn't been arrested in almost two years.

"So, is Charles staying?"

_Charles can answer for himself._

Erik's expression turns wry. "I thought you were asleep."

_With my eyes open?_

"It's possible.”

Charles rolls his eyes, the motion making his stomach roll. _I think I am, yes. Grab my backpack for me?_

Erik hops to his feet. "I'll go now."

"Drive safely, please," Magda tells his back.

"Always do," Erik shouts from the next room.

"Horseshit," Magda grouches. "Stupid man." She blows out a heavy breath. "All right, Mr. Sick. Let's get you into bed."

 

**_xx_ **

 

Charles is lying with his head in Magda's lap when Erik returns. He comes bounding up the stairs, backpack in hand. "What do you have in here?" he asks as he sets it on the floor.

"Work," Charles says, which sets off a coughing fit.

"Erik, why are your pants wet?" Magda asks suspiciously.

"I had to wade through the snow to get to Charles' door."

"You want to try that again, this time with some conviction?"

"I'm not lying."

"You are, and badly." She sighs. "Did you have fun playing in the snow like a child?"

"I already told you-"

"Please stop lying. You're giving Charles a headache, which is giving me a headache."

"Sorry, Charles."

Charles grunts. He shuts his eyes, tired of having the light blasting his eyes. A moment later, something cold covers his forehead. He's felt so hot, the cold is perfect.

From the strain in his voice, Erik doesn't share Charles' bliss. "Maggie, he's burning up."

"I gave him acetaminophen and took his temperature," Magda replies. "I'll take it again in a couple hours. If it hasn't gone down by then, we'll go to the hospital." She runs her hand through Charles' hair. "No sense in jostling him about if they'll just send him back."

Erik isn't convinced. He wants to take Charles in now. The thought is clanging through his mind- and Charles'- like... something loud.

_I'll be fine,_ he thinks in Erik's direction. _The children get me sick every year._

"See? Charles agrees."

"I don't like this."

"Noted."

The bed dips as Erik lowers himself down. He makes an odd noise, and a moment later, he lifts a corner of Charles' blanket. "Why you naked? Maggie, why is he naked?"

"It was hurting his skin."

Flopping an arm behind him, Charles grabs something that feels like an arm and follows it until he gets to Erik's hand. This he drags over and up to his chest.

_Your angst hurts my head._

"He's scolding you, isn't he?"

"Go away."

"Yes, husband."

They settle down after that, their voices stilling and their minds settling into soft rhythms. Magda has a trashy romance book, while Erik simply stretches out and lets his mind go quiet. The pounding of Charles' gift finally subsides, and he drifts off into a deep, dreamless sleep.

 

**_xx_ **

 

By Monday, Charles is feeling almost entirely recovered. He's still a little unsteady, but it hardly merits the presence of both Lehnsherrs joining him in the bath.

"You do know this wasn't built to hold three adults, right?" he asks the back of Magda's head.

Behind him, Erik just wraps his arms around Charles tighter.

Sighing, Charles taps Magda's shoulder. "Pass the shampoo, would you?"

She does without comment. It's her bottle rather than Erik's. There's a test in there somewhere, but Charles is only interested in washing off the sweat and stink of his illness. He really doesn't care how it smells.

Lathering up is an exercise in not smacking Erik in the face- an exercise Erik complicates by keeping his face as close to Charles as he can.

"I'm not going anywhere," Charles grouses the third time Erik hisses because he's gotten shampoo in his eye. "Would you at least move your face? It's bad enough I've got the two of you in here with me. Could you get out of my ass long enough for me to bathe?"

"Somebody's cranky," Magda says from where she's rinsing her hair by the tap.

"Oh, excuse me for not wanting to know what it's like to touch another person's eyeball."

She snorts, and Erik finally draws his head away.

Charles doesn't waste time getting to work, instead diving in and scrubbing his fingers through his hair with gusto. Every circle his fingers make on his scalp is heaven. He can practically feel the sickness washing away.

He slides under the water slowly, keeping his back pressed to Erik as he does. He doesn't linger beneath the surface long, just long enough to wash the majority of the shampoo out. Then he surfaces.

Magda catches his eye and jerks her head. Charles knows without asking that she's saying its time to indulge Erik.

Rearranging themselves in the tub without spilling water everywhere requires more care than Charles would normally take, but Erik has a thing about tidiness. Charles isn't sure what about messes makes Erik so twitchy, but he's seen Magda's dark looks enough to know it isn't anything good. So Charles is scrupulous not to splash as he settles himself under Erik's arm. Magda does the same on the other side, and for the first time since he found Charles on the bathroom floor, Erik relaxes.

They lie like that for a long time, past the time when the water cools and their skin wrinkles. Erik rests his head on Magda's, tangles his fingers in Charles' hair, and closes his eyes. Where his mind ripples into Charles', his thoughts are simple. Comfort. Satisfaction. Greed.

Charles lays a hand over Erik's chest; a moment later, Magda lays hers atop it.

"I have to go soon," Charles tells them when the water has drained midway.

Magda hums an acknowledgement. Erik's mind snaps out of its lull and immediately reaches for Charles.

Non-psionics, even mutants, rarely take to telepathy well. Yet Erik is eager to draw Charles in, and Magda is open to his gift in a way few people are. Their minds don't slither away from him, instead drawing him closer.

_Hello,_ Magda's says, surrounding him warmly. _I know you._

_Come here,_ Erik's says. It is impatient, always this side of commanding.

No one has ever enjoyed Charles' gift before. Even his sister hesitates to let him speak his most natural language.

"I'll drive you home," Magda says once Erik has relaxed his grip on Charles' mind. She has an uncanny ability to time things, especially where Charles' gift is concerned. If he didn't know better, Charles would swear she had some sort of mutation.

"Best get going, then," he sighs. "I'd like to make some more headway on the field trip I told you about."

"The International Mutant History Museum." Magda smiles. "Erik took me there a couple months ago. It's breathtaking. You should make sure to visit the psionic section. Erik and I found it very, hmm..."

"Enlightening," Erik finishes. There's an undercurrent to his thoughts, but Charles doesn't follow it, merely nods and slowly gets to his feet. Magda and Erik do the same.

"No," Magda says as she reaches for the tap. "We do not have the time for a quickie, Erik."

Charles stifles a snort but gets a sharp look from Erik that suggests he didn't do a good job of it.

Magda rolls her eyes and turns on the spray.

 

**_xx_ **

 

After spending the weekend cuddled up with Magda and Erik, Charles' apartment feels like a punishment. Usually the quiet is a blessing, a respite from having his telepathy bombarded all day, but as he steps inside, all Charles feels is cold.

His cheek is still warm from Magda's goodbye smooch. Lifting a hand to his face, he touches the spot she kissed. When he pulls his hand away, his fingertips are bright red.

It's the only shade she wears outside work, he knows. When they go out on dates, she always has the shade of immaculate red lips. He wonders if she and Erik are going out later. Will she leave red marks on the tall column of Erik's throat? Will she kiss him and turn his lips red, too?

Sighing, Charles tries to push the thoughts away but can't. Erik and Magda were together first; it only stands to reason that they would go out without him. It would be easier, too, to be a twosome. Not having to worry about Charles giving them away by putting his foot in his mouth or telepathically projecting.

Of course they fuck without him, too. He's especially busy this winter, and he knows how Erik gets. Hell, he knows how Magda gets- she may be more subtle about it, but she has her own demanding libido. Charles simply isn't around often enough to satisfy them.

They could be fucking right now, Charles thinks as he heads into the bedroom. He's seen Erik fuck Magda a few times, and the sight is burned into his memory.

He's also seen Erik and Magda suck him off, though. That, too, is Charles' forever. Erik's pale eyes nearly black as he bobbed his head along Charles' length. Magda's pink tongue darting out and running stripes up him. The two of them playfully shoving at each other in competition over Charles.

His pants feel too tight, and Charles reaches a hand down to adjust himself.

He really does have to work on the paperwork to get the field trip going. It isn't urgent, though. Besides, he's tired, and a wank would help him sleep.

Stripping off his jeans, Charles hops onto his bed. There's lotion on his bedside table, and he's already getting hard from thinking about Erik and Magda.

He lets his mind drift as he runs his hand up and down his shaft. Easy things come to mind: the shape of Magda's breasts, the way Erik's ass jiggles a little when he walks, the clench of a body around Charles' fingers.

His mind wanders into specific memories. Erik crying out when Charles pushes into him just right. Magda guiding Charles' head when he goes down on her. Erik on his back, hard cock leaking onto his belly, eyes half-shut, with a dildo vibrating in his ass. The sight of Charles' dick sliding in and out of Magda's cunt as she rides him, the feeling of being watched as Erik stared at them from his place at the foot of the bed.

_"Fuck!"_ Charles bites his tongue when he comes. He has neighbors here, and he can't be the weird one everybody hears coming.

He lies back and pants, feeling more empty than before. He will clean up later, he decides, flopping over onto his side. Everything can wait for later.

**Author's Note:**

> not gonna lie, i have zero idea where this is going


End file.
